Introducing a Series on the WA Statewide Civic Life Strategy
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Last fall, I talked with a journalist who was curious about our work at Paths to Understanding. He listened carefully, nodded along, and said he believed that efforts to bring people together and build trust are necessary.
But then he said, “But it doesn’t solve the problem.”
By “the problem,” he meant what many of us are starting to see clearly: the whole-of-society crisis we’re facing—group isolation, rising distrust, dehumanization, civic illiteracy, the collapse of local journalism, bitter partisanship, and the breakdown of a democracy that works for everyday people.
He didn’t see a reason to cover us, because we weren’t working on all of it.
Like many, he saw our work as “necessary but insufficient.”
And you know what? He’s right.
But he’s wrong not to cover it—because no single effort is enough on its own. What we need is a whole-of-society response to a whole-of-society problem.
In May 2024, we held our first Let’s Go Together public event at the Lincoln Theater in Mount Vernon, WA. Afterward, a woman named Victoria approached me. She told me about a national network she was part of—a trans-partisan coalition working to bring organizations into partnership to face these complex challenges together.
I started attending their Zoom calls. Then I joined them in Phoenix for the American Democracy Summit. The more I listened, the more I realized: this is what it’s going to take. People across the ideological spectrum, from all kinds of communities and institutions, finding ways to work together—not because they agree on every policy, but because they want to live in a society where those debates can happen with honesty, dignity, and hope.
Now, those relationships are growing into something bigger. We’re working on a Statewide Civic Life Initiative to strengthen civic engagement here in Washington State. I’m spending many hours each week meeting with potential local, statewide, and national partners.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about this effort—where it’s heading, who’s involved, and how we hope to build something truly collaborative.
At PTU, we’ll keep doing what we do best: gathering neighbors, growing trust, and bringing communities together. But now, we’ll do it as part of a larger whole—one piece in a wider response to the challenges we all face. We believe that local temples, mosques, churches, service clubs, cultural centers and non-profits can play a role in building these relationships while also staying within their mission.
Together, our work can be both necessary and sufficient.
When we help people come together in a specific place, we’ll be ready to connect them with others—partners and organizations who can help them take the next steps in strengthening civic life.
More to come…